Holiday Shelf Styling Before + After

Today I had one of my first design appointments for the upcoming holiday season and it happened to be one of my favorite projects: shelf styling! The project was also extra special because it was for another local business owner and blogger, Deanna of Mirabelle Creations. I met Deanna through the Market 301 and she reached out to me about helping to spruce up her bookshelves in her office. This space is used by the entire family and the bookshelves are really the focal piece of the entire room. They also housed all of Deanna's supplies, files, and work materials. The challenge was to keep everything on the shelves contained in this area but make it look clean + organized. This is also the first room you see when you walk in the front door, so we wanted to be sure it looked tidy and had a little Christmas cheer.

Deanna's home is beautiful and she already had a lot of great items to work with. Most of her supplies and papers were contained within baskets or containers, which is key for having nice looking shelves. I added a few more crates and trays and rearranged and straightened her existing organizers.

One key to styling shelves in a work space is to put the least appealing looking items at the bottom and corners. That is the last place your eye will travel and you want to keep your prettiest items at the top and center. Baskets and crates always look better than stacks or piles, it creates a clean look and makes everything seem organized.

Deanna also had a lot of books on these shelves and I loved how she had organized them by color. I kept this theme going but separated them a bit, and stacked them both horizontally and vertically on many of the shelves to create more interest.

Here is the final result! All of Deanna's work supplies are contained on the bottom 3-4 shelves: easy access and everything has a place. I tried to place matching/similar shaped containers side by side for a cleaner look and I mixed in some books with some of them. The most exciting part was adding some holiday trims! When I saw the shelves, I knew instantly I wanted to hang wreaths on the outside on each side of the mirror. Hanging pictures or items on the outsides of your shelves is a great way to add depth and create a focal point.

While shopping for this project, I kept an eye out for smaller items I could mix in easily. I found several little trees, candle holders, and accessories that added a little color + Christmas cheer to the shelves. Our gold spikes are one of my must-haves for shelf styling and I used several on these shelves (stacked on books or alone). These are perfect year 'round and always add a chic touch to any space. I also noticed Deanna had several glass vases/bowls, so I brought some gold ornaments to fill them.

Finally, I always try to layer pieces when styling shelves, so I picked up some holiday-themed framed pictures and signs too. Flat pieces like this can lean on the back of the shelves (and also stack on top of books) and then you can place smaller items in front to create depth and interest.

The finished shelves look completely organized and holiday ready. Every shelf is being used and the entire space is practical and functional, but still beautiful! I love the mix of colors, textures, and timeless style. I've linked all the new items I purchased for this project at the end of this post for you to shop! If you would like more information on our design services or to sign up for our own consultation, click here. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work on this project for such a sweet family and I hope they enjoy it!